Hey everyone! Dominique Roberts back again on the scene to provide you exactly what you want in the Yu-Gi-Oh World!
Ladies and gentleman, you just have been DQ'ed! Now before you become alarmed, DQ'ed here does not mean disqualified. It means 'Deck Questioned'. It is the theme and title of a new series of articles I am releasing. Before I write each article I will take questions via Facebook, Twitter and Texts from friends regarding a specific deck which will be posted on my Facebook page. I will then take the time to analyze those questions and make sure I have done plenty of research and testing in order to provide you with the most valid answers available. Without further ado, I present to you: DQ'ed!
The deck for this weeks segment will be: Rescue Rabbit Dino's!!
I posted a brief introduction to the article on my Facebook and prompted my Yu-Gi-Oh! Community friends to ask any questions they had about the deck. I will provide you with a list of the better questions I got and my answers after research and testing.
1. What are the optimal opening plays with the deck?
The base optimal play for the deck is opening with Rescue Rabbit and good backrow support such as Trap Dustshoot and/or Forbidden Lance. This play nets you an Xyz(Ususally Laggia on the first turn) and protection, or the advantage of being able to map out your future plays and make decisions regarding which monsters to bring to the field and which cards need to be set. Another amazing opening with the deck is Tour Guide from the Underworld along with Gold Sarcophagus. It allows you to banish Rescue Rabbit from your deck, use Tour Guide to make Leviair the Sea Dragon, revive the Rabbit with Leviair's effect and then proceed to make your Xyz play. One other strong opening play is summoning Thunder King Rai-Oh(Variant depending). This is always a good opening play to get a feel for what your opponent is playing before you make your own big plays.
2. What if I only open with the normal(Vanilla) monsters?
That was a commonly discussed issue for many players prior to YCS Kansas City, and still makes some players keep their distance from picking up the deck. The thing is, with any deck, there is the possibility of having an unfavorable opening hand. Luck is a part of the game in Yu-Gi-Oh and sometimes we just get unlucky. But we must sometimes play on the fact that luck, whether good or bad, is not limited to you, yourself, and that your opponent can also have an inconceivably bad hand. This is especially important to remember when playing a deck in which your opening hand will greatly decide the latter turns of the game by limiting your options and making the basis of the deck, Rescue Rabbit, a bad card to draw. With all that being said, as with any bad hand, you must continue to play as if you have an optimal follow up play. Make your opponent believe that your face-up Kabazauls is a pending threat but players realize that these vanilla monsters, Sabersaurus and Kabazauls are decent sized beaters, but are not a necessity to your field. Do not use your full defenses to keep them on the field if you do not have a follow up play with them afterwards such as another Dinosaur-Type monster to Xyz summon with. Be mindful of the other cards you play in your deck like Tour Guide, Pot of Avarice(Most of the time), and Jurrac Guaiba, which can turn those defensive cards you have into huge advantage for you.
3. When do I use my Forbidden Lance?
As some of you may know, one of the decks most crippling obstacles is Spirit Reaper. This card can completely shut down the deck for turns upon turns if not taken care of. Forbidden Lance is one of the few ways this deck has to get rid of Spirit Reaper resourcefully; that is, without using a majority of your resources. If at all possible, save your Forbidden Lance for Spirit Reaper if you suspect that it may be in your opponents deck. Otherwise, use it at your discretion. There is no ABSOLUTE answer as to when to use Forbidden Lance, because it depends on the deck you're playing. But be wise about it, sometimes it's best to let your monsters take the hit, if it means being able to build your field up without fear of cards like Enemy Controller and Dimensional Prison next turn. Keep in mind it also makes Jurrac Guaiba live against all monsters with 2400 or less ATK. So with that, I leave it up to you to be the great player that you are, learn from your mistakes, and realize through playtesting with this deck when the best times to use Forbidden Lance are.
4. When do I make Evolzar Laggia? Evolzar Dolkka?
This question ventures along the same lines as the Forbidden Lance question. There is no absolute answer because it depends on the deck you're playing against, but there is validated opinion. When you're going first against an unknown deck, your best bet is to always make Evolzar Laggia. It puts your opponent in a position where they have to make an obstructive play on their end. What an obstructive play is, is a play that deviates from the normal set-up that they would create with that hand. What a first turn Laggia does for you is set the tempo for the game. You want to be able to dictate your opponents every play. You want to make them waste their power cards like Dark Hole and Heavy Storm just to force a negation. Most decks these days wont be able to afford using two power cards to get rid of one monster that can easily be followed up by another one using only one card. This is what makes the deck what it is. Making Dolkka is good mid to late game when all they have to fall back on are monsters like Gorz and Debris Dragon. Also, Dolkka is optimal against set monsters. Attacking into a set effect monster with Laggia usually means trouble for you. Cards like Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo can be detrimental to your field without Dolkka as a safety net. Once you take into consideration that Evolzar Laggia is the pacemaker of the deck and Evolzar Dolkka is the safety net of the deck, you should be able to make apt decisions regarding what to summon in any and every situation. Once you have the pace set, bring out your safety net so you can take luck out of the equation and bring the game home strong and in complete control of the field.
5. What are this deck's worst match-ups?
Bad match-ups in the current format are Gravekeepers and T.G. decks. Gravekeepers because they generate so many recursive effects with Gravekeeper's Spy and Gravekeeper's Stele. Another determining factor in this match-up is Necrovalley, which make their 3 Gravekeeper's Spy's DEF 2500, a staggering obstacle in a deck which hardly produces monsters of that strength. Royal Tribute can also be quite destructive, so be weary of that when playing conservatively. The best way to beat this deck is to keep Necrovalley off of the field at all costs and be a bit more aggressive than you normally would when you see an opening. Making Dolkka will oft times be more important in this match-up, as monster effects here run rampant and are crippling. Aside from Laggia not being able to negate flip summons, it also makes quick work of the array of backrow cards and things like Gravekeeper's Stele.
TG's are trouble with their productive engine, coupled with heavy backrow such as Horn of the Phantom Beast and TG1-EM1. They have the ability to commit to the field and not pay so much for it if you get rid of it all. Keep their engine at bay, stop summons and searches to eliminate the usefulness of their backrow cards. Dimensional Fissure is also a godsend in this match-up. Get it on the field if you decide to play it, which I highly recommend, and protect it. As long as you can keep a decent sized monster on the field, you should be able to maintain enough control to seize the game. Good luck in overcoming your toughest match-ups with ease!
6. What is your recommended decklist?
This is the decklist I topped with in Duluth, Georgia on the 4th of December.
Monsters:
3 Tour Guide from the Underwold
1 Sangan
1 Maxx "C"
Spells:
Traps:
Extra Deck:
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
Side Deck:
1 Debunk
I did only main deck two Rescue Rabbits, this wasn't intentional but it was something I grew attached to as I played with the deck. I made some decisions in the main deck that worked out in my favor (such as keeping in Thunder Kings and a single Maxx "C" while still playing Dimensional Fissure), but I have since then changed the build a bit. I would still recommend the build to someone getting a feel for the deck as it allows you to make some of the more conventional meta plays while outlining what the deck can do on its own.
Lucky 7! My last question for today!
7. What do you feel was the best card in your side deck?
I must say that Vanity's Emptiness was the most game-defining card of the day for me. It won me every game that I played it in. Having Dimensional Fissure ensures that monsters don't go to the grave and detaching is not considered sending from the field to the graveyard so having Emptiness backed by an Xyz and/or Dimensional Fissure was always a huge benefit on my end. As well as keeping my opponent at bay, many people misplayed into it by using Mystical Space Typhoon on it instead of Dimensional Fissure, which by being sent to the graveyard, would trigger Emptiness' effect to also destroy itself.
Well that's its for you being DQ'ed today! I apologize if I got a big long winded with this article but there were so many great questions that I wanted to answer with enough substance that everyone could get something from it! I apologize for the questions that went unanswered! Rest assured that I will be answering those questions personally! Thank you SO much for reading my article and I hope you allow me to become an amenity to your Yu-Gi-Oh knowledge! Stay tuned for the next DQ!
Birmingham, AL
Crimson Castle Chess
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